In this episode, we talk about: The blessings and burdens of looking into the future (strategic foresight) * Does contemplative practice and spirituality (mysticism) represent the future of faith? Why or why not? * The promise of permaculture in re-wilding our lives * A look into The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation

David, Debo, and Catherine Young talk with D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation board member Rev. Peter Laarman about structural racism in America and how that racism plays into religion.

The directors of the FBI and DHS have warned Congress that white supremacist, anarchist, and other armed militias pose a significant threat to American security. Our nation, unlike our peers in western democracies, has been held hostage to the gun industry which appears to be motivated by profits to the exclusion of concern about human life. It is up to us to reverse that priority and stem the accelerating rate of gun deaths in America.

Power begets power and institutions that are rife with power will increasingly resist change, reform, or moral responsibility. An excellent example of this is the perception that protesting police killings and violence as being inherently “anti-police” just as protesting the Catholic Church’s history of hiding pedophilia as well as the rape and forced abortions common among nuns in their relationships with priests is decried as being “anti-Catholic.”

Should a book on a highly gifted, spiritually and intellectually grounded political/diplomatic world leader of the twentieth century have serious impact on life today?

Enjoy 2 hymns from Ecologisers: In Peace and Love and To Bless The Earth

Faith is typically based on “belief” and science is based on objective research and analysis. In this address, written for the Malvern (United Kingdom) Science and Faith conference, Dr. Ray discusses the concept of “evidence based faith,” attempting to rank our beliefs based on Bayes’ Theorem of probability analysis.

Many believe this upcoming election is the most important one in our lifetimes, one of the key crossroads in American history. And we believe that racism is and must be named as a core religious issue in this electoral season—which for us is a confessional season about affirming the image of God in each and every one of us; which is at stake in our election choices.

Debo and Catherine Young sit down with Dr. Stephen Farrow, Executive Director of the National Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute of Mississippi (NDORI), to discuss health as a justice issue and how social factors like income and education impact health. Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity and childhood obesity in the United States, and 1 out of 3 people in Mississippi are considered obese.

Every so often, I put out a “musing” that is a guide to my writings and videos. It’s that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice.  Use freely.  All I ask is attribution!

Looking upon the sea of interpretations of the story about Jesus walking upon the waters of the Sea of Galilee, makes me feel like that young monk who continues to sink each time he tries to find his way across the lake.

Dr. Wiggins goes into detail about growing up and figuring out what he wanted to do with his life, as well as how all that led to his position at the NAACP. 

We really are not in the same boat but we surely are in the same storm. The pandemic is very inconvenient for the people who get to keep their jobs, income, health insurance, and home. But those who are now unemployed, uninsured, evicted or facing foreclosure are in another kind of boat and it is in danger of sinking.

In the fourth episode of the Born Black Faith & Reason series, Debo and Catherine Young chat with Normella Walker, Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Brigham Health hospital. Walker talks about diversity in the workplace, as well as the importance of organizations’ roles in civic responsibility and social justice issues.

Today’s lectionary reading from the Hebrew Scriptures is an appalling story about a Father, Son, and sacrifice. God commanded Abraham to make a human sacrifice of his only son, Isaac.

One of the reasons Encountering Silence is a real leader in spirituality podcasting is their unflinching commitment to examine systemic injustice today, showing how rootedness in the spacious silence of Christian mysticism helps us find our voice and speak up against racism, homophobia, and the forces of dehumanization everywhere.

When America lost John Lewis, who died last weekend at age 80, part of our nation’s moral compass was silenced. Many have learned of his remarkable life story: the child of poor Alabama sharecroppers who — through deep moral convictions — came to be known as the “conscience of Congress.”

    “Leaning In: A Prayer of Intention” is a sung prayer of intercession that aims to break down the distinction between the typical “us” and “them:” of such prayers. It also shifts away from petition (asking …